THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND:

Otago Witness, Issue 2626, 13 July 1904, Page 84

THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND :

By C'.ipLain F AY. Hi i mv. F.R .S., Vvc I-0-nt ot tlie Xtw ZkiLuicl Institute, aivl J VM h.-> Dr. I .UMO VU.

Chiistrlnucli, A't'tllm^ton. and Dunedin : WhitLombe and Toml 1 -, Limited ; 10C4

Reviewed by Dixoexis

During the Li>t few yeirs many biological books liavi coane to my l-and« for notice in I In. is 3 ] ages, bur not one. I tliiuk, campaiablu Avith this one in reg;nd to the tin i;e P" 1 - — pr.per, pili»ting, and 2^" cl - in ' e^Tlie publishers of this sumptiu'us work in natuial history have left nothing undone to turn it out a peifect specimen of bookmaking on mod' in lines-. The. result is a solid and arli'-ti.ally-pcrtect vo'ume, it is a pl^asur^ nurdj to handle. On glancing through its pagev the illustrations inevuably rii^t anxst the c} c They are numea'oub and of Kiipeib quality, judged eithtr from a scientific or an aitistic viewpoint. Many of Sir Waiter Buller's finest delineations ol our native birds are here reproduced in flawles" pliotogravure. A huge number of the finest picluics of members of the New Zealand fauna, have been liiaele available by the country of othor specialists and collecto:<, oriiLials of the various /Joolcgicil Societies, etc, at London. Only -the b«s* souices have been elro.'nn upon, and the if suit is a set c,i uaLurpl hjstoiy illu^hations tli.it will compjre favourably vitli any ever iir-ertcd in a book intended for populai reading. Without risk of serious contradiction cne might go further, ami say that very few g\>uli boe^ks come anywhere near to the excellent standaid of pictorhl ait a^ here displayed. A few of the eng> .wings, kindly placed at my fiisposal by tho piiblishe^, vill be lound in the pictoiial pages of this issue. p*y^Jtfr . A word or two- as to tne book itself. In their preface the authors «-aj that thf-y "have tndeavoured to combine popular information with i lie pui-ely scientific, and liiive intermingled stories of quaint lvabits f.nd cliaractnvistios with accurate descriptions of all the animals dealt with Our object has been to publish a volume that t\ ill be useful to naturalists, and at tl'.e scune time interesting to the general public.' 1 This i. c a most laudable aim, but many oi tho.~e who have attempted it in the past have, neveilhelesv. • quite failed to hib the mark. The recsy-i fur this is not. far to swk. Very fov, readers are ■■apHule of rightly appreciating the work of the zoologist — a thing not at all to be wondered at. The science of zoology is a, highly spec! ili^ccl one, with, many department';, and eft en enough the specialist in one dtpartmrnt knows very little of vhat is b.-ing done or det^i mined by his fdlow-woikeis in the otlieis, and vice versi, of course. Those of vs viho are merely units of that vuguo mass, ""the gciitval public, ' con never really attain to a, competent knowledge of /oology, unless Aye become zoologists oui3elves. 13i.it, m trirb, very few of u& burn with Fny such" d r sire. Kere and there one is to be tound who -n ishes for knowledge of the broad facts, and quite rightly also wishes to get at this by the easiest possible road. How often doc^ biich a "poor student" find hiir.stif st.i'gglitig among tha pages of the author whose book is a compound oi scicntiiic zoology and popular natural history? I speak \vith feeding, having wrestled with and iinalTy relegated imny such volumes to the obscurity ot the top sholf in my lime. But this is a digression, or tends that way. Let me. theref(i.\ assure those interested that the coimihois of this very line ci)itoine of the bird ai.d animal 1-ne of New Zealand ha.ye m ide no such tim"-worn blunder as is invrlvtd m the mixing of incongruous materials. I suppose it is pcimissibie to pssume that Mi Crummond has done the popular section of the boob, Captain Hutton's keen eye upon him meanwhile, no doubt. L'aptain Hiitton himself is, for certain, solely responsible ior the purely seitntj/jy pait, which i^ fvid<.nt!v tlie work of jh expert in .classification and pieci^e deSLiiption That both authoi« have wi ought toge'l'er in haimonious undeistanding is b?&t evidenced by the bock itself. Tlu wii-Je ot the scientific matter pioper — descriptive, cl.icsifieatoiy, tabuLu 1 , irenealo.rical — is kppt str'et'.y apart from the abundant aril cn.vfuliv-eollated excerpt p of ISt'W Zei';nd rjelil-naturaiisLs' not^s, as gleaned fioni the writings of the bsst üb&eivers.

Tuns it come* that he -nlio wishes to identify beyond dispute any one of our nxtive biuls, i^ylits, et^., can bring his eye to bear upon its exact sc ientiSo description -vviih rlie gneattst ease. All of the niatW lelitiug k» L.milio •„ &üb-familifs, genera, and spaces is set out in different type and contained in separate pivasraphs, •-o that either confu-ion or delay in getting at th.s e.vyjt putioul.us nee'dul °aniv-t possibly ensue. This cU'-iiab!^ and vrorknianhke airangcment will commend itself to th.i*9 who cojne inidej the cile^oiy of nolnraliots. the rame and f;',me ol Captim II at ton being suiHdon* giu^antce <>t iehiibrity in coiin^p'ion wiib'iiie m-tteis de ilt v.ith. As a fnither did to the studeui pyent'.uiig ihtit is possible in the way of accuiiitn indtxJi'O h;i» hern d'i;!e. >Sepaiai.o indexes are citivoled to llaon uamn, common nanus. and ccie.itiUc d visiu.^ 1 . and (lie classification of all lwiini New Ztalm-l air-breuthing veitebidt^s ib cliaily sci icith i!i a table vjiich « jll piove v. valuable to the bilious

A v >t lj-\,"e ;■>!. i'fi t'onrto ppoce tas h-ceu g:\-,: — ii/'.'tly I .I'.Tii-- — - o tluit pan of the su'dJial v. h;th iiu-Liis'.b the v, idtit ciicle (it i .uli-i-. TKo cunosity v> i?lk - to L'e 111101111011 of vi h«t bad 1 * and otl: r aiuiiidK do i ithci tlian of v.hat they me i^ Ikio c itered for vritb the most <.x cc'l"nr ipsull'3. Thif- feeling is a Lev attribute to cany about with ou-e, for tiib

mind that finds pleasure in the contemplation of Ining nihiie v. ill never be absolutely weary in any cueiunstance>s. Che hi.-t book ol UMveK I icad -when a boy Mas .Mungo Park s account ot his journe^-s into Africa. I can never foi.et how, when, left in a savage land, stripped of all his belongings, he found M'tet consolation from the bight of a humbly little plant flowering at his feet as he lay where merciless robbers had k-ft him. The thought that the same God who mrdo the little flower to bloom there watched over him too made him happy even in tho-e dii^ful ciicum*tanc€s. H-' aro'e and went on his way cheerfully. Wi may not always attain to such philosophic perfection as this line old Scotsman, but at least the love of what is wondeiful ami beautiful in Nature is a grand counteractive to needless worry, and most -worry is needles. Side by sick with the- more diffused interest in nature lo'.e thsi'c is now growing up a more specialised kind of curiosity m Inch many good books go far towards satisfying. We no longer ar-e- content to accept the idea that all of the various beings on earth aie just as they were afc the beginning of things. Xo book that ignores the larger outlook upon pknt and animal life oyom .1 up h\ tlie evolutionary conc-eption oi Xanne could meiit welcome a,L the present times. Many such arv sentforth from the press, and may serve very well to amuro chiklu-n, but aie powerless to fulfil any higher function. lam glad! to find that the doctrine of d«scent has noi been ignored in this book. While if; has not been dwelt upon in a manner to distress the understanding of the uninformed, it is to a sufficient degree incorporated in the genetic and specific summaries, and is occasionally alluded to in the text. As an instance, the condensed description of the kiwis by the late Professor Parker may be cittd. From a minute study of its stiucture, ele., this authority came to the conclusion that the ancestors of tli-? kiwi genus were typical flying birch, Avith keeled breast bones ami iunc^ tional wings. lianv otheis of our "flightless" birds exhibit stages of the same retrogressive process which in. the kiwis is complete. The kakapo, the native crew, the ground lark, the weka. are familiar examples of this curious result of xuxz or disuse of pait«. In this connection the thougLttul reader will find a great deal to stimulate interest in many sections of the book, those containing descriptions of tho physical jieculiarities of penguins, shags, etc., especially. The fauna of Kew Zealand offers, indeed, an unrivalled field for study of tie tr?nsforming effects of isolatiou. We do no{} need to go outside tlie colony for instances of species tJiat have gone in for radicil change of characteristics. "During isolation some of the animals, not-ibly the short-tadl^d bat, the hui;>, tlie thrush, the kakapo, the rails, and the ext/inct naoas-, altered a great deal, while others, such as tiie fern-bird, the ■warbler, the tits, and the swamp Jien, altered very slowly ; bufc there was a tendency in all towards lohinw their powers of flight."' T3i« above is quoted from an admirably-written intxoduct ory chapter, within the limits of -which tlie whole histoiy of living nature, past and piesent, in New Zealand has been cleverly ouilmed. And no less effectively are we here told of tlie successive wars' of extermination that have assailed tie peaceful animal denizens of this womterlaad of Mature. The Itaori began tlie work of destruction— he is charged with the -wipir^out of the moa — but the white man, -with his proclivities and appurtenances, has eclipsed the destruebivene* s of the. dark man by a hundredfold. We have still tho rtmiirfiit of the most marvellous fauna on, ■cartn, and thoughtful readers of this book can hardly be other than stimulated to do wnat they car. to preserve and cherish it. 'i<rom the etlikal standpoint, as well as from that of science and nature-love, it should hav-e much power for good The authois deserve well of their fellow-colo-nists for the comprehensive grasp they have taken of the subject, neglecting no a*pccl of it. In ev-ry way the results of their laboms must be described as a splendid success. That this opinion will be freely and hilly endorsed by all intelligent readers I have no doubt whatever

TO F 1 n h ? :< * conini-.m.on v/ith the crags, iaat tower aloft alone A Th!'^ t' I */* 04 ™' 11 ? deep that draga lha flinty lioscliaucls down; The -mllec clouds thai brood abcrat Jlie sbeep3 they theet witli snow • ±we lonesome torrp-it that doth shout J-o daarfcsonie »]&as below

Tae dutrky evp. the taidy dawn, lhe ionfj, ] o)>cr,0 )>cr, lon-eh «t«y— Eut O I bless a sin ny reorn, Aucil one how i<u «w ry. Again I 'Tinkl her haaul in mine, Her soft. In own ejos I ee.^, A.icl. -fi'lrcl vith ero<-'^y divme, 1 feel lac bhcb to Le.

Ec- patie.it, ye who persevere

T\ T uo b-iaveiv stii"l, roy bend To meauov Ihi'^--. but hold inll de?r High \iitue. Foivi\'ad wend

Tliv qu ct way

Aw pit II!- will

Wiio lU-th 'al' ti. r>i"* well. Thy Ircublecl =;>irjt He will ii'l

AVith peace, and thoii wilt tel To -now crags. 1o ='oleniii «eas, And far-ie,oi"Ki :.c sh earns". To siinny nir uvd t .v]ei T-/eezo The beiuty of t'ij droan.s At eventide. In nirn-iovs lu-b T':e lazy k,ne w'i &:a'id. And one who k?U t'i- -cc-rd lm-h Wul take thy tlii.i.irg hard,

A:iT r « 1 t!-~ 1 ! mfn-v

O. c,-i. o a-d h- b r a fl,-,'-.-. The j->iouniaip« a-<l iho rnvnense, And L^.-c's oi>-> v.b!i-ii? power — Cii\kli:s Osca-?, Paliisb.

KaKoiitcia llil.^

VOT ,FK'f> S C TI y A P P S Ol great v «il ue in i v enal pffection.l